When Google+ was released a mere year and a half ago, it was met with some fanfare by the technology world, but most people shrugged their shoulders and went on with their life. The new offering was seen as a replacement for Facebook by some, as a merger of Facebook and Twitter by others, and as a “too little, too late” by most.

So how much traction has Google+ gained in the past 18 months? According to Brad Feld at Venture Beat, it’s slowly been creeping into all of Google’s products, and their slow-game strategy is brilliant. He points out that features from Google+, such as circles and hangouts, have been making their way into his normal Gmail workflow. He also brings up the point that he’s using Google Voice as his phone number, but we’re not sure what that has to do with Google+. His findings are similar to our own: We even held our first ever Google+ Hangout less than a month ago.

It’s unclear whether Google+ will ever supplant Facebook as the social media platform of choice, but it’s also not clear whether that’s Google’s goal. It’ll be interesting to see how much further Google+ expands over the next 18 months. Do you find yourself using the social media platform more frequently as time goes on?